Infrastructure Development MEC Jacob Mamabolo has responded to criticism levelled at his department by the DA’s Shadow MEC for Infrastructure Development, Alan Fuchs.
“We will be transparent in all that we do,” said Mamabolo. Fuchs had criticised the department’s decision to partner with the Moral Regeneration Movement to ensure public properties were not vandalised, especially during protests. The department and the movement announced their partnership on 31 January.
Fuchs said the movement had failed to fulfill its mandate over the years. “It must be remembered that, initially, the patron of the [movement] was none other that President [Jacob] Zuma, who eventually resigned from this position. One would have expected that in the debate on the fitness of the president to hold office, the [movement], as the centre of our collective South African morality, would have had something to say. Instead, there was deathly silence.”
Funding for the movement came from national government, but its budget was small. “One hopes this is not a cynical mechanism to augment the funds of the [movement],” he said, adding that he doubted if the movement had enough staff to be effective in the partnership.
Mamabolo insisted the movement had enough capacity, but Fuchs said it must be clear what the movement would do and how much it would be paid, and that he would scrutinise the project.
At the time of going to print, the movement had not responded to questions on why it had remained silent on moral issues.
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